Tag Archives: Trout

Fly Fishing Secluded Water with a Neighbor

Notwithstanding that the local watershed continues to be low and unreplenished due to lack of big storms, there is still some good fly fishing to be had towards the end of this summer in the high mountains. 

Working a Section of a Creek in August

This August fellow Abingdonian, outdoorsman, and neighbor John Hortenstine, my son Karl, and I took a mid-week, evening fly fishing trip to one of our local trout streams in Southwest Virginia.  John took us out to one of those relatively unknown spots that anglers usually don’t reveal on websites. 

Blindfolded and sworn to secrecy before we were allowed to enter his car, John drove us to a secluded stretch of water where we were treated to some nice fishing.  Once on the water, John and I took turns working the various pools as we worked our way upstream.  Karl started several pools downstream and brought up the rear as a sweeper, fishing each of the downstream pools after they were rested for a while and documenting our trip with photography. 

Only John was getting all the action when we started out.  While he might contend it was solely due to the skilfulness of the angler in question, at the time I suggested it was the fact that he was using a lighter tippet (the final part of the line that connects the leader to the fly), and that the fish were more interested in the particular pattern, or type, of fly he was using.  John caught several nice fish right out of the gate, while my dry fly was just getting some rises and some looks, but the trout were ultimately not interested in the Parachute Adams I was offering.

SW Virginia Rainbow

When the water is super low, your approach is a big part of the fishing.  “Spooking” the fish by a clumsy approach will dampen, if not totally destroy, your chance of catching trout.  While the water is not always extremely clear in the Appalachians, when it’s low like it is right now in late summer, the fish will easily spook if you are not cautious.  Even poor or unnecessary false casting of the fly line (where the line shoots out over the water before the actual cast of the fly out onto the water) will spook a rising trout in these little creeks.

Stealthy Approach to Trout-Laden Pool

Of course, the flip side to the low water is that you have a better chance of actually seeing more of the trout in the pools and other places where the fish are more likely to be holding in the smaller water.  We saw several trout at a time in some of the pools, and a few were lunkers. 

An additional benefit to being quiet on the water is that you may see additional wildlife.  About halfway through our fishing, a small deer busted through the brush at the bank less than 100 feet from where we were fishing, and stopped right in the middle of the stream.  It froze for a few seconds when it saw us.  Then it crossed and was gone.

As we were fishing in this fashion, John had one rise—and a sip, or take—by a particularly large trout in a 2 foot slow-moving pool of clear water.  The top part of the trout actually broke the surface of the quiet pool as it opened its jaws and slowly and deliberately sipped the fly.  I immediately estimated this trout was 18-22 inches!  It was clearly visible in the water since the entire length of the trout was only an inch below the surface at the time it sipped the fly.  We both watched mesmerized.  Seeing a take like that is impressive on any level, but when it is your fly that is being taken it can send chills up your spine.  You draw in your breath with a silent gasp and your heart skips a beat.  This is what a dry fly fisherman lives for. 

There was a momentary pause—we both knew this was a great fish.  Then, timing it properly, John attempted to set the hook . . . but just at that moment the lunker ejected the fly as deliberately as he had taken it.  The fish turned and returned to his lie at the bottom of the pool as the leader and tippet with the fly attached was withdrawn back towards us.  The whole thing almost seemed to happen in slow motion.  Watching it was agonizing, but awesome.

John's Nice 'Bow Caught on a Dry Fly

 Setting the hook with a dry fly on a rising trout is much more difficult than on a nymph or streamer (let alone setting the hook using spinning tackle), because with the dry fly there is a longer period between the fish’s actual strike, or take, of the fly and the moment to set the hook.  Getting the timing just right to set the hook while the fly has been taken, but before it is ejected, is challenging.  While there are sometimes violent strikes, if the trout are rising and merely gently sipping surface flies, the angler must concentrate, time the hook-set perfectly, and generally use more finesse to catch the fish.  A large trout like the one we almost caught may be even more finicky, as it may have been caught before and is probably even more cautious than most fish.  It takes a lot of skill, and also a little bit of luck, to catch a seasoned trout on a dry fly.

My Turn
 After a while, we finally switched out my rig to use a smaller (6X) tippet and to change my fly to a pattern similar to the one John was using. Within a few minutes I started to get some rises and more interest from the trout.  I had several takes, but also was unable to set the hook.  Towards the end of the evening, however, I caught a beauty, too:
 
My Colorful August ‘Bow

In the end, there was plenty of wealth to spread around.  Last but not least, Karl got into the action with a nice, fat rainbow in one of the largest pools we fished.  He now has the fly fishing “fever,” too:  He is getting his own fly rod for the fall. 

This was a great little evening of fishing.  Willing trout, close to home, and a cool summer evening:  It’s hard to beat that. 

P.S. — John did not really blindfold us; we were, however, truly sworn to secrecy!

Karl's Chunky Rainbow

 All photos in this article by Karl Thiessen.

Southwest Virginia Fly Fishing

This weekend was a fly fishing marathon of sorts.  My son and I covered three different streams in three days, shopped for fishing gear and talked fishing with numerous people about fly fishing, researched fishing opportunities around the region, and caught some nice fish while escaping the oppressive heat that seems to have taken the nation hostage this summer.  On Sunday afternoon, I caught my first large rainbow trout since purchasing a new fly rod. 

Southwest Virginia Rainbow Trout
Beautiful Rainbow on a Sunny Afternoon

As you can see from the photo above, this fish was about as long as my forearm from elbow to the middle of my hand.  We estimated him about 15 inches and about 2 pounds.  I caught him with a nymph in about 1 1/2 feet of water near a cut bank.  My rod was a 5 wt, and I was using 6X tippet.   He jumped once and ran twice, the second time pulling line out from the reel.  We enjoyed that sweet whine of the drag as the trout pulled the line as he straight-lined it up river.  We had about a five minute fight to get him close enough to bring him in, and we promptly released him.

The Catch
 

The Release

This is a great time of the year to get up into the mountains for recreation since it has been so hot lately.  We enjoyed temperatures in the low to mid 70s most of the time we have been fishing this weekend.  That said, the water is extremely low, so the fish may not be as responsive as at other times of the year.  The heat puts a lot of additional stress on trout, who require the colder water to survive.  We therefore have minimized the length of fights or playing the fish out too long, as in the heat it is difficult for them to recover.

Fly Fishing Somewhere in Southwest Virginia

The Southern Appalachians boast some of the best fly fishing in the Eastern United States.  That declaration, while seeming strange on its face—fishing for trout, a cold water fish, in The South?actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it.  Streams and rivers originating from springs and filtered runoff from mountains, relatively remote pockets of forestland, and steep valleys providing lots of cover and protection from the heat of the sun combine to make the streams of this region good for trout.  Within a 60-mile radius from Abingdon there are numerous “blue ribbon” trout streams in Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee that provide first class fly fishing opportunities.  Many are tight creeks and smaller streams, but there is definitely some wonderful fly fishing in this area.

Little Southwest Virginia Rainbow

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is a good place to start to get some basic information on regulations and fishing locations in Southwest Virginia.  Abingdon is fortunate to have an excellent and well-equipped fly fishing shop, Virginia Creeper Fly Shop, whose owner Bruce Wankel is always welcoming, provides useful information, and also guides local waters.  Mountain Sports, Ltd. in Bristol also sells fly fishing specific gear and has knowledgable staff about fly fishing in the region. 

Here is a map of the major trout streams in far Southwest Virginia(including the Abingdon area) and a map of the major trout streams in the area to the north and east in Southwest Virginia (including Wythe and Grayson counties).

All photos in this article taken by Karl Thiessen.

St. Mary’s Wilderness

St. Mary’s Wilderness is in the George Washington National Forest in Augusta County.  St. Mary’s River, a small river that is better characterized as a large creek, empties a large drainage area on the west slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  It’s about three hours from Abingdon via I-81.   In fact, it’s as close to Washington, DC and Richmond as it is to Abingdon.In April 2011 I hiked and did some trail running up the main St. Mary’s “trail”—if you would call it that—on a weekend trip to the Shenandoah Valley.  The last time prior to this that I hiked in the St. Mary’s Wilderness was as a student and member of the Washington & Lee University Outing Club in the late 1980s.  Unlike most hiking areas, St. Mary’s Wilderness has become more inaccessible since my trips there when I was in college. 

There is a sign at the entrance to St. Mary’s Wilderness that states that the trail was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  There was a well-established trail prior to the hurricane.  Now it starts out as a trail but within a half-mile deteriorates to sporadic rocky areas and only remnants of a trail.  There are numerous areas where the “trail” is blocked by blow-downed trees, and where the trail meanders or peters out and then reappears several hundred feet further along the river.  The trail also runs along some embankment areas that are somewhat dangerous, requiring hand-holds on tree branches.  This trail could be challenging with a large, heavy pack for these reasons. 

Due to limited time, I was only able to get several miles up the trail, so I cannot comment on the further reaches of the trail.  However, the lower areas are not in very good condition.  In fact, the conditions were so poor that I carefully retraced my hike back to the entrance parking lot, to make sure that I had not missed the trail somehow.  Considering that this was early in the season, with the leaves not fully out and the underbrush not obscuring the trail, I do not think was this the case.

While there are interesting cliff faces, views up the gorge, and glimpses of the Blue Ridge mountains above, the reason to hike this trail is the St. Mary’s River itself.  The river is clear, runs over a light-colored stone bed, and has a couple of waterfalls.  There are also numerous deep pools, several which are suitable as swimming holes or places to take a dip on a hot day.  Here is a typical deep water pool:

The St. Marys River is purportedly a good trout fishery.  The river is not part of Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ stocking program, however it is a designated special regulation trout water.  Only single hook artificial lures may be used; no bait may in possession of the angler; and all trout less than the minimum—for St. Mary’s River, a 9-inch minimum—must be released.

Comprising 9,835 acres, St. Mary’s Wilderness is one of the largest federally designated wildernesses area in Virginia.  Under the Wilderness Act of 1964 a federally designated wilderness is described as:  “A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”

Although designated as a wilderness, it is not remote compared to many areas of national forest southwest of Roanoke in the Abingdon area such as the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, parts of the Clinch Mountain Ranger District, or the Cherokee National Forest in Upper East Tennessee.  St. Mary’s Wilderness  is nonetheless remarkable for being such a large, contiguous wilderness area so close to the major metropolitan areas of Virginia.

Here are some additional thumbnail photos of the St. Mary’s Wilderness.  Click to enlarge them.  

Mountain Film Festival in the Appalachian Mountains

This weekend two good friends, my wife, and I drove over to Boone, North Carolina for the evening to attend the local screening of the Banff Mountain Film Festival at the Farthing Auditorium at Appalachian State University.   The Banff Mountain Film Festival is the largest and oldest film festival for celebrating mountain sports and culture.  The festival takes place in Banff, Alberta, and then a shorter version travels around North America (and the world) for screenings of the best films.  The Boone screening, a two night affair, is supposed to be one of the largest outside of the actual festival in Banff. 

Our road trip was about an hour and ten minutes via Route 91 through Mountain City, Tennessee and up Route 421.  As we went through Trade, Tennessee, we were treated to a setting sun shining directly on snow-capped mountains on the North Carolina side of the state line.  The upper half of the mountains had a nice dusting of fresh snow that looked like someone had dumped powder sugar on them.  Apparently it had been snowing all day in the higher elevations, setting the mood nicely.

Arriving at Farthing Auditorium, the crowds were raucous, and there was a lot of energy anticipating the screening.  We watched five films.  WildWater, Eastern Rises, and The Swiss Machine were the most memorable.  WildWater is about the spiritual aspects of paddling in wild places and the devotion of those who paddle.  The film contained incredible footage, including creek boating in Colorado, rafting in the Grand Canyon, and the massive rapids of the North Fork of the Payette River in Idaho during high water. 

Eastern Rises seemed to be the best liked film of the night.  It documented a bunch of guys who took an incredible fly fishing trip to Kamchatka, Russia.  Kamchatka is one of the most remote areas of the world:  A vast, basically unpopulated peninsula across the Bearing Sea from Alaska and to the north of Japan and China.  In the film these guys fished super remote rivers and streams, many without names.  The trout were huge, and they were rising to go after gigantic custom-tied flies.  The guys’ reverence for trout fishing and the pristine waters they fished came through, and their irreverence towards one another was hilarious.  This is one entertaining movie regardless of whether you are personally into fly fishing. 

The Swiss Machine was an adventure biography of Ueli Steck, an alpinist who is a speed climber.   The film shows Steck climbing in the Himalaya, Yosemite, and in the Alps.  The film leads up to his speed ascent of the north face of the Eiger.  Viewing the steepness of the Eiger face on the big screen almost made me queasy.  The filming shows how dangerous speed climbing can be.  Yet the film is quite inspirational.  Steck’s athleticism and determination are well conveyed for such a shorter film.  The cinematography in the final scene is superb. 

Coming back from the screening, appropriately enough it began to thunder snow on the drive home.  This is in April in Virginia, mind you.  There are additional screenings of the Banff Film Festival in other places this year.  This was the first year I was able to attend the annual festival; if you have a chance to see it sometime, I highly recommend it.  It’s inspirational and definitely makes you want to go get into the outdoors in the mountains.